WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today (2/1/2018), the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 19 fair housing organizations from across the country filed a housing discrimination lawsuit in federal district court in Chicago, IL against Deutsche Bank; Deutsche Bank National Trust; Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas; Ocwen Financial Corp.; and Altisource Portfolio Solutions, Inc. Ocwen and Altisource are the servicer and property management company responsible for maintaining and marketing a large number of Deutsche Bank’s properties.

NFHA is filing this lawsuit on the first day of Black History Month to highlight how neglected bank-owned homes hurt African American communities. The lawsuit alleges that Deutsche Bank purposely failed to maintain its foreclosed bank-owned homes (also known as real estate owned or “REO” properties) in middle- and working- class African American and Latino neighborhoods in 30 metropolitan areas, while it consistently maintained similar bank-owned homes in white neighborhoods. The data presented in the federal lawsuit, which is supported by substantial photographic evidence, shows a stark pattern of discriminatory conduct by Deutsche Bank/Ocwen/Altisource in the maintenance of foreclosed homes…

The full press release and power point presentations can be found for both the Chicago & Gary Metropolitan areas below:

CHICAGO — Today [12/5/16], the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), Homewood, Illinois, based South Suburban Housing Center (SSHC), and twenty other fair housing organizations across the country, including HOPE Fair Housing Center in Wheaton, and OPEN Communities in Winnetka, filed a housing discrimination lawsuit against Fannie Mae in Federal District Court in San Francisco, California. The lawsuit alleges that Fannie Mae purposely fails to maintain its foreclosures (also known as real estate owned or “REO” properties) in middle- and working-class African American and Latino neighborhoods to the same level of quality it does for foreclosures it owns in white middle- and working-class neighborhoods. The data supporting the federal lawsuit, which includes substantial photographic evidence, shows a stark pattern of discriminatory conduct by Fannie Mae in the maintenance of its foreclosures.

The lawsuit is the result of a multi-year investigation. During the past several years, NFHA notified Fannie Mae many times of its failure to maintain and market its foreclosed homes in communities of color to the same standard to which it was maintaining and marketing the foreclosed homes it owned in similar, predominantly white neighborhoods. In spite of numerous meetings between NFHA and Fannie Mae to address these disparities in maintenance and marketing, Fannie Mae persisted in its willful neglect of its properties in African American and Latino neighborhoods.

Over Neglected Foreclosures in African American and Latino Neighborhoods

On Wednesday, August 31, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), in conjunction with nine local fair housing organizations, will hold a webinar news conference in Washington, DC, to announce the filing of an amended discrimination complaint against Bank of America (BoA). The complaint alleges illegal discrimination by BoA in African American and Latino neighborhoods in six additional cities. This new evidence of discriminatory treatment by BoA will be added to the federal Fair Housing Act complaint on file with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Furthermore, NFHA and the nine fair housing organizations will add new evidence to their existing claims.

The civil rights groups allege that Bank of America continues to fail to perform basic maintenance and marketing tasks for its foreclosed properties in African American and Latino neighborhoods, while it consistently maintains its foreclosed properties in White neighborhoods, a practice that violates the federal Fair Housing Act. The nationwide investigation examined BoA’s foreclosures in middle- and working-class neighborhoods. BoA is paid to perform this routine maintenance for all of its foreclosures. Nevertheless, evidence gathered between 2011 and 2016 in 201 cities located in 30 metropolitan regions documents an ongoing pattern and practice by BoA of different maintenance based on the racial or ethnic composition of a neighborhood.

See below for local, regional, and national presentations of the evidence or to view the press release.